Sweet Sorrow
by Peachy-san
Summary: A girl named Peachy stumbles into Hyrule unexpectedly, and falls in love with the Hero of Time. However, he loves Zelda... edit: wow, when was the last time I checked up on this? oO;; well, to anyone who cares, second chapter up...
1. Default Chapter

Hello! Peachy desu~  
  
This story's been in my head for a while, and after my friend told me to do it well... I decided to write it. And it's my first story too. ^^ I could say pretty much safely that this is a very depressing fic, and I hope you find it the least bit interesting. Yes, yes I'm in it. I suck. :D;;; But it kinda means a lot to me so forgive me ^^  
  
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I do not own anything of Legend of Zelda. So XP  
  
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Peachy looked up at the clock.   
  
Soon. Soon it would be time.  
  
She gripped the letter in her hand slightly. She paced the room, following the patterns on the floor unconsciously, her heart prickling at the thoughts going through her head. Soon. Soon... She will have to say goodbye. Her tired brown eyes looked around the room, decorated with fancy furniture and vases. The walls were smooth stone, covered with several tapestries, all showing the same symbol, of three triangles linked together to form one large triangle. The bed was set down right next to the window, and a light breeze rippling the semi-transparent curtains hanging softly down. The light made patterns on the floor as the trees outside swayed gently back and forth. The sky was a bright blue, with small patches of darker cloud collecting around the edges. The spring air drifted into the room, the smell of sweet flowers reaching out to Peachy. Yet, she hardly took notice of these things. Her mind was elsewhere. Slowly she paced back and forth, back and forth, lost in her thoughts. Suddenly she jerked her head back at the clock again. Her face went slightly pale as she read it.  
  
It was time. It was time to say goodbye.  
  
Gently she placed the letter onto the cabinet, right next to the small black suitcase laying quietly there, ready. Peachy's shaking hand reached for the doorknob of the room and slowly she walked out into the hallway towards the gardens. She mired hopelessly in her mind, trying to find any thought to soothe the ache in her heart. Nothing came. Only one thing kept cycling through her head- the day she met him. The day she met Link. The day it all started. Where did it all start? At this point it time it came out sharply in her head, as if it was just happening...  
  
~*~  
  
"Hey Peachy!"  
  
Peachy looked up from her desk. Her friend waved at her.   
  
"Sleeping again in class?" Peachy smiled lopsidedly. It was usual for her to fall asleep in class. Her mind was always wandering off into daydreams about other places... somewhere other than here at school, where nothing ever exciting happened.   
  
"Class is over so I think you'd want to go home now," her friend grinned. Class was over. Which meant the start of a nice, long summer, being able to do anything she pleased.  
  
"Man, how could I sleep through the bell like that?" Peachy thought aloud. Her friend giggled.  
  
The breeze blew through Peachy's wavy brown hair as she shuffled down the path back to her home. She stared up at the deep blue sky, watching a small white cloud float slowly by. Again, she dreamed of being somewhere else, somewhere where there was nothing but her and vast plains, where anything could happen... Slowly she walked by a forest, a small patch left there by the city, a relic of what the land used to be covered in. Her eyes trailed over to it, and presently she stopped and stared into it. The trees stretched high into the sky, as if to touch the bottom of the clouds. Leaves rustled quietly with every gentle breeze that sighed through them, and suddenly that was all the Peachy could hear. The wind seemed to call to her, to draw her into the cool shade of the trees. She looked down the path towards her house. The white sidewalk seemed to sit there dead. She looked back. Today was early release... It wouldn't hurt to wander in the forest a little bit... Besides, it wasn't an overly large forest... there was no way she could get lost in it... Step by step, she entered the forest, the trees swallowing her in.   
  
The light diffused through the leaves, giving everything a hazy look. The leaves muted all sounds, even her footfalls, and the forest stood as if stopped in time. Nothing moved except the leaves and her own feet, crunching softly on the dead debris of past seasons.   
  
"...It's so quiet here..." Peachy murmured softly to herself, stating the obvious. It was almost unnaturally silent. She couldn't hear the ever-present sound of cars zooming by on the highway. She had grown so accustomed to the usual hustle and bustle of society that it felt odd with the absence of it. That's odd... she didn't go that far into the woods did she? Slight panic flared in her, but the serene calm of the forest kept drawing her in until somehow, she felt as if she had to keep going. On and on she walked, almost as if in a trance, until-  
  
Splash. She looked down. There was a small puddle of water that her foot was standing in. Her face reflected off of the surface almost perfectly, the rippling water distorting her face slightly as she stared down at it. She looked past the puddle until she saw a small pond close by, reflecting the surrounding trees almost like a mirror, the sunshine refracting, creating an almost sparkling effect. As she walked closer the pool shimmered and vibrated, giving Peachy strange sensations as she watched it. What was this...? She slowly sat down next to it, looking at the water ripple back and forth. Reaching forward, she dipped her fingers into the pool, watching as ripples collided into one another, spreading out to the whole length of the water.  
  
She didn't know how long she sat there, watching the still surface of the pond, but when she finally came to it the sky was slowly being engulfed by dark clouds, eating away at the blue sky that was visible through the canopy of the trees. Her mom must be worried by now, she thought, as she stood up shivering slightly. The pond, still like glass, reflected the darkening sky ominously, and she could hear the distant rumble of thunder that rolled threateningly. Slowly she walked away from the pond, back the way she came, through the dead leaves and the still trees. It was even quieter than before, the calm right before the beginning of a maelstrom.  
  
Raindrops started to fall presently, splashing down on the leaves and dripping onto Peachy's head. On and on she wandered, wondering why it was taking so long to reach the end of the patch of forest. The rain became harsher, drilling down on her, soaking her clothes. She shivered convulsively, panic welling up in her again. Where was the end? Her feet kept going, steps quickening as she sloshed through drenched leaves and mud. The rain poured down in sheets, the trees moaning and sighing with each burst of raindrops the heavens lashed down on them. Suddenly, her foot splashed into a puddle of water. She looked down at it, then her eyes slowly trailed past it. There was the same pond. The same pond that she been sitting at, the same pond that she had left. Now the raindrops ripped through the surface, upsetting the images on the pool of the dark and stormy clouds that had covered the sky. Peachy leaned against a tree and slowly slid down, the cold reaching into her very heart. Was she going in circles? Angrily she wiped the tears welling up in her eyes. Why couldn't she find her way out... Why... She hugged her knees closer, her heart sinking, feeling totally helpless and lost as the rain fell heavily around her, intensifying her feeling of loneliness.  
  
"Hey... Are you okay?"  
  
Peachy snapped opened her eyes. An unfamiliar voice had called to her, a gentle yet determined voice, from out of the noise of the storm. Slowly she looked up. Standing in front of her like an apparition, was a young man who looked in his mid-teens, wearing a soft green tunic and brown boots tied at the top with small black belts. Under his tunic he wore a gray shirt and tight gray pants, and on his hands he had long brown guard gloves on. A long cap matching the color of his tunic hid most of his hair, but blond sleek bangs fell down in front of his face, now wet with the rain and hanging heavily. Strapped around his chest was a brown belt, and hanging from it behind him was a long decorative scabbard holding a sword with a blue hilt that flared out on the sides and was encrusted with a yellow jewel in the middle. A shield hung behind the scabbard, along with a bow and a quiver. What was most intriguing about him though, was the fact that he had long pointed ears sticking out behind his wet bangs. An... An elf...? And his eyes. His eyes were a bright, deep blue color, ones that were showing concern at the moment, but for an instant seemed to show a life full of tough decisions and loneliness.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked again. Peachy shook herself out of her lack of speech, but it took her a few seconds more to figure out what to say.   
  
"I... I'm kind of lost..." She said sheepishly, thankful that the rain had covered up the few tears that had leaked out of her eyes. For some reason, now she felt embarrassed that she was about to cry a few seconds ago.   
  
"Here..." he offered her his hand. She stared at it for a second. Then slowly she took it, and he pulled her up to stand in front of him. He smiled. "I can help you find your way out." There was something about that smile that made Peachy feel funny.  
  
"Thank you..." she managed to mumble, and it didn't seem to be just the numbing cold that was hampering her speech. "Um... Who are you...?" He looked at her.  
  
"My name is Link."  
  
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Yaaay first chapter done. ^^ I hope I did okay and wasn't too corny or anything ~_~;;;; please tell me what you thought. Chapter two might take a while, what with schoolwork and all. Bear with me! :D 


	2. Chapter 2

Wheee! Second chappy!

Gah, sorry this took so long. I'm such a procrastinator. How long has it been? a little less than a year? who knows. So much stuff happened inbetween then and now, it's not even funny. ::sweatdrops heavily:: At least I actually posted up another chapter.

I have to explain that what I was planning to do was to alternate every chapter between Peachy's and Link's perspective. So this time, it will be in Link's point of view. Just so you don't get confused :D

On with the story!

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You got it. I don't own Zelda. So be quiet.

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Link had just been wandering through the Lost Woods, as he usually did these days. Whenever he wanted a quiet place to think, he always wound up drifting through the dense foliage, not paying attention yet knowing exactly where he was going. It had been a beautiful day, yet Link for some reason felt drawn to the cool shade of the never-ending forest. He lost track of time wandering in there, which was odd for him, when suddenly it started pouring down. Desperately seeking shelter from the biting rain, he stumbled towards a cave he knew was nearby. That was when he saw her.

At first all he saw was a small mass huddled under a tree, shaking. He thought it was an animal of the forest, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be a young girl, who seemed about his age, curled up and hiding her face in her knees. She had long brown hair that was drenched at the moment, and was wearing strange clothes, a blue sleeveless turtleneck and tan pants. Who is she? Maybe she's lost? It wasn't uncommon for people to get lost in these woods. It had an inexplicable way of drawing people into it, where if they didn't know the way, they became hopelessly lost.

Concerned, he called towards her.

"Hey... are you okay?"

The girl looked slowly up at him. She seemed to be surprised by his presence there. Link then realized that she had round ears- she wasn't a Hylian? But she didn't look like a Gerudo either... As they stared at each other for a moment, he looked into her amber eyes and saw a sense of scared loneliness in it. It gave him a sharp memory of himself long ago, before anyone knew him. Before he was the Hero of Time.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, he called to her again.

"Are you okay?" She stared at him for a few more seconds, then suddenly had a sheepish look on her face.

"I... I'm kind of lost..." she murmured quietly. She had a soft voice that seemed embarrassed at the moment, but still wavered slightly, seemingly not just from the cold but from being alone in the woods as well.

"Here..." he held out his hand to her. She tentatively clasped it. Her hand was cold and shaking slightly, but her grip was firm. He pulled her up and got his first real good look at her. She was about his age, kind of skinny, and her skin was rather pale, as if she hadn't spent much time outside. Her round ears were nearly covered by her dark brown hair that was hanging heavily with the rain on her shoulders. Her brown eyes looked at him hesitantly, as if she had never seen someone like him before. Her gaze seemed to rest mostly on his ears. Perhaps she wasn't even from this world? He wondered. It was possible. After stumbling into Termina, he wasn't sure how many other worlds there could be out there.

"I can help you find your way out." He smiled reassuringly at her. He didn't know why, but he really wanted to help her. Not that he wouldn't have helped anyone else, but for some reason he felt almost like he had to.

"Thank you..." she stuttered slightly. Again the embarrassed tone of voice, as if she felt like she had been rather stupid to get lost. But it was also filled with gratitude and relief. She looked curiously again at him. "Um... who are you...?" She asked.

So she really wasn't from here. By now, most people knew Link in Hyrule, whether he really wanted it or not. At times he wished that he wasn't so well known. It was hard to walk into the Town Market to get something and have people staring or pointing. Some people were nice. But most people seemed to feel like they couldn't just walk up and talk to him, as if he was a separate being altogether. It was at times like those that he felt the loneliest. He really did wish he were just an average person sometimes. Suddenly he felt almost relieved that for once he had to actually introduce himself. Without being called "the Hero of Time."

"My name is Link."

".... Link...." she murmured, still gazing at him wonderingly. "It's a nice name." Link felt kind of awkward. Nobody had said that to him before. "My name is Peachy..." she gave an awkward smile. "...Peachy, huh...?" He mused a bit longer about where she could have come from, before he smiled at her. "Well Peachy, I think it's best we get out of this rain before we both catch a cold." As if suddenly remembering that they were in the middle of a storm, Peachy shivered. "I'll agree with that. But, where can we...?" Link smiled a little more. "Follow me, I know of a cave nearby." He grasped her cold, shaking hand firmly yet gently, leading her through the storm. He felt a strange feeling in his heart as he led the young, lost girl onward, one that was new, yet familiar at the same time. Then the wave of nostalgia hit him, as he remembered something that had happened what seemed like ages ago, but couldn't have been more than a few months... It was the image of him leading another girl towards safety, but instead of through a maelstrom of rain, it was through a collapsing castle.

Zelda. The princess of Hyrule. She was the girl he led out of the crumbling castle, the same castle Ganondorf had built, and caused to collapse and nearly kill them both. As his job as the Hero of Time, he had to protect not only the Triforce, but the Hyrule royal family as well. Zelda was the sole survivor of her family, as the King of Hyrule had perished 7 years ago, the time when Ganondorf had laid siege on the castle. Yes. The king of Evil. He was the reason that for 7 years, Hyrule suffered through tremendous ills and misfortunes, as he kept the Triforce of Power in his hand. The only person who was said to be able to stop him was the Hero of Time. Himself, none other. It was fate, they said, that had made him Hero of Time, it was his destiny. He supposed it was also destiny that he was to meet Zelda, that he would have feelings for her.

For he was in love with the Princess of Hyrule. It was strange how it came about, and he wasn't sure when he started to love her, but it had happened... but she was always so distant. As the Princess of Hyrule, the only royalty, she was bound to lead the land of Hyrule. Even though Link was allowed free access to Hyrule Castle, she was very busy, and they didn't spend all that much time together... If only he could get to know her better...

Link jolted out of his deep thoughts when he realized that he had reached the entrance of the cave. "In here," he beckoned to his new acquaintance, and pulled her inside out of the beating rain. Shivering, Peachy tried in vain to wring out her clothes, then gave up and slowly sank to the floor of the cave. "Ugh... this is just not my day..." she murmured.

Refraining from voicing the many questions that were resurfacing from the moment they met, Link sat down beside her with soft concern on his face. "Will you be alright?" Peachy looked up at him, and for a moment he saw betrayed in her eyes the look of scared confusion, but it quickly hid itself as she gave him a lopsided smile. "You don't look too much better off than I am, though..." "Oh, this is nothing for me." Link gave a light smile, but inwardly he thought grimly of a few things that were much worse than being soaked by rain. "You don't seem to come outdoors all that often... I suppose you aren't too much used to the elements either." Peachy looked confused. "How... how can you tell that?" Link was a little surprised at her reaction to his observation. "Well... your skin is very pale. Unless it's naturally that way, you haven't spent much time out in the sun to get tanned. And while I was leading you through the woods, your hands were cold and you were shivering rather violently." A slight coloring passed through Peachy's pale cheeks, but quickly faded. It only made Link worry more of her condition. "Hmm... there's not much we can do until the rain stops..."

With a sudden firmness, Peachy implored, "I'm fine, don't worry. I-I'm tougher than I look." She gave a small weak smile that gave Link the impression that she wasn't too sure about that herself. "...Are you sure?" "Really!" Her voice dropped slightly, as if embarrassed that she had raised it. "Um... thank you again for helping me... I'm sure I'll be fine now that I'm in a dry place..." Link questioned if that was true, but pushed it aside seeing such earnestness in her face. "Well, alright. But as soon as the rain stops I'll take you to the nearest town. You can probably get some dry clothes there." "T-thank you..." She looked down. There was a short silence, and the beating of the rain only served to intensify it.

"U-um... I'm not sure how to put this... but... I... really don't know where I am..." The girl confessed rather awkwardly. Link had already supposed this much, but gave a small smile. "You're in the Lost Woods." "...Lost...Woods?" She seemed even more confused by the name. "Sounds like a name from a video game or something..." Video game? Link mused. He wondered what that was. "Never heard of it?" She shook her head. "No... what country am I in? Is this still in the U.S.?" Now it was Link's turn to be rather confused. "Country? U.S.? This land is called Hyrule."

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Woot, second chapter done. X3333

Perhaps you picked up that last little bit of humor at the end, as nothing real humorous has happened quite yet. And yay for the crapload of flashbacks in Link's head, even though I'm sure all you Zelda fans know all this by heart already. lopsided smile I just figured I needed to set up when this was taking place and yes... the relationship between Zelda and Link must be established, or the story wouldn't make much sense now would it? >3

Once I figure out what'll happen next, I shall write up the third chapter.Thank you for reading this, whoever does, cause I'm sure this kind of story doesn't catch many people's attentions. ::bows::

catch you in chapter 3!


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